Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

Meet Isabel Spellman, private investigator. This twenty-eight-year-old may have a checkered past littered with romantic mistakes, excessive drinking, and creative vandalism; she may be addicted to Get Smart reruns and prefer entering homes through windows rather than doors—but the upshot is she's good at her job as a licensed private investigator with her family's firm, Spellman Investigations. Invading people's privacy comes naturally to Isabel. In fact, it comes naturally to all the Spellmans. If only they could leave their work at the office. To be a Spellman is to snoop on a Spellman, tail a Spellman, dig up dirt on, blackmail, and wiretap a Spellman.

Isabel is the middle child, David her perfect old brother and Rae the 11 year her senior accidental 3rd Spellman. David became a lawyer to escape the madness of the family business, Rae embarrasses it. While Isabel, the rebel child, whether drinking too much or using drugs or always going for the wrong boyfriend she can't find her way.

So when Isabel's parents hire Rae to follow her (for the purpose of ascertaining the identity of Isabel's new boyfriend), that is the final straw. Isabel decides that the only way she will ever be normal is if she gets out of the family business. But there is a hitch: She must take one last job before they'll let her go. The final job? A fifteen-year-old, ice-cold missing person's case. But when a disappearance occurs far closer to home, Isabel's final job becomes the most important case of her life.

This was a greatly entertaining novel. I really liked all the characters and you can't help but sympathize with Isabel who knows she lives in a crazy life but can't do anything else. From reading the author's notes it appears we may seem more adventures of the Spellman. But this can definitely stand on it's own and left me very satisified.